Iodine nutritional status of women in their first trimester of pregnancy in Catalonia.

Background: Sufficient iodine intake is needed during pregnancy to ensure proper fetal development. The iodine levels of women in their first trimester of pregnancy in Catalonia are currently unknown. This data would help to determine whether our public health services should establish recommendations or interventions in this line.

Respiratory microbiota and lower respiratory tract disease.

The respiratory airways harbor a complex succession of ecological niches with distinct but related bacterial communities. Particular challenges of respiratory microbiome research have led to limited scientific output compared to other human microbiomes. Areas covered: In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge of the bacterial respiratory microbiome, with a particular focus on associations between the respiratory microbiome and lower respiratory tract conditions.

High efficacy of Sofosbuvir plus Simeprevir in a large cohort of Spanish cirrhotic patients infected with genotypes 1 and 4.

Background And Aims: Hepatitis C (HCV) therapy with Sofosbuvir (SOF)/Simeprevir (SMV) in clinical trials and real-world clinical practice, showed high rates of sustained virological response (SVR) in non-cirrhotic genotype (GT)-1 and GT-4 patients. These results were slightly lower in cirrhotic patients. We investigated real-life effectiveness and safety of SOF/SMV with or without ribavirin (RBV) in a large cohort of cirrhotic patients.

Single-arm open-label study of Durolane (NASHA nonanimal hyaluronic acid) for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the thumb.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis of the trapeziometacarpal (TMC) joint of the thumb - also known as rhizarthrosis - is painful and has a significant impact on quality of life. Intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid may potentially meet the need for effective, minimally invasive intervention in patients not responding adequately to initial treatment. We aimed to confirm the safety and effectiveness of viscosupplementation with Durolane (NASHA nonanimal hyaluronic acid) in rhizarthrosis.

Prediction of neonatal respiratory morbidity by quantitative ultrasound lung texture analysis: a multicenter study.

Background: Prediction of neonatal respiratory morbidity may be useful to plan delivery in complicated pregnancies. The limited predictive performance of the current diagnostic tests together with the risks of an invasive procedure restricts the use of fetal lung maturity assessment.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of quantitative ultrasound texture analysis of the fetal lung (quantusFLM) to predict neonatal respiratory morbidity in preterm and early-term (<39.

Recommendations for the use of parenteral methotrexate in rheumatic diseases.

Objective: To develop recommendations for the use of parenteral methotrexate (MTX) in rheumatic diseases, mainly rheumatoid arthritis, based on best evidence and experience.

Methods: A group of 21 experts on parenteral MTX use was selected. The coordinator formulated 13 questions about parenteral MTX (indications, efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness).

Evolution After Anti-TNF Discontinuation in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Multicenter Long-Term Follow-Up Study.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess the risk of relapse after discontinuation of anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), to identify the factors associated with relapse, and to evaluate the overcome after retreatment with the same anti-TNF in those who relapsed.

Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, multicenter study. IBD patients who had been treated with anti-TNFs and in whom these drugs were discontinued after clinical remission was achieved were included.

Factors influencing the spread of pertussis in households: a prospective study, Catalonia and Navarre, Spain, 2012 to 2013.

We aimed to investigate transmission rates of pertussis in household contacts of cases and factors associated with transmission. A prospective epidemiological study was conducted in 2012 and 2013 to determine the incidence of pertussis among household contacts of reported cases in Catalonia and Navarre, Spain. An epidemiological survey was completed for each case and contact, who were followed for 28 days to determine the source of infection (primary case) and detect the occurrence of secondary cases.

Surgical Anatomy of the Medial Wall of the Orbit in 14 Human Cadavers.

 The aim of our study is to present the anatomical landmarks to perform an endoscopic endonasal approach to the medial wall of the orbit (EEAMO).  We performed 14 complete nasal and orbital endoscopic dissections in 7 adult cadaveric heads.  The EEAMO provides a surgical corridor between the medial rectus muscle superiorly and the inferior rectus muscle inferiorly .

Procalcitonin Is a Better Biomarker than C-Reactive Protein in Newborns Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: The PROKINECA Study.

Objectives: To assess the kinetics of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in newborns after cardiothoracic surgery (CS), with and without cardiopulmonary bypass, and to assess whether PCT was better than CRP in identifying sepsis in the first 72 hours after CS.

Patients And Methods: This is a prospective study of newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit after CS.

Interventions: PCT and CRP were sequentially drawn 2 hours before surgery and at 0, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after surgery.

Hypertriglyceridemic waist in type 1 diabetes patients: prevalence and related factors.

Background: The hypertriglyceridemic waist has been linked to a higher number of cardiovascular risk factors and a greater probability of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Around 50% of individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are overweight or obese and triglyceridemia is associated with the onset of micro- and macrovascular complications.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in men with T1D to assess the association between the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemic waist and cardiovascular risk factors and hypogonadism.

[Evaluation and treatment of the critically ill cirrhotic patient].

Cirrhotic patients often develop severe complications requiring ICU admission. Grade III-IV hepatic encephalopathy, septic shock, acute-on-chronic liver failure and variceal bleeding are clinical decompensations that need a specific therapeutic approach in cirrhosis. The increased effectiveness of the treatments currently used in this setting and the spread of liver transplantation programs have substantially improved the prognosis of critically ill cirrhotic patients, which has facilitated their admission to critical care units.

Vaginal progesterone as maintenance treatment after an episode of preterm labour (PROMISE) study: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate whether maintenance treatment with vaginal progesterone after an arrested preterm labour reduces the incidence of preterm delivery.

Design: Multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: Twelve tertiary care centres in Spain.

A Genome-Wide Association Study of Attention Function in a Population-Based Sample of Children.

Background: Attention function filters and selects behaviorally relevant information. This capacity is impaired in some psychiatric disorders and has been proposed as an endophenotype for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; however, its genetic basis remains largely unknown. This study aimed to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) associated with attention function.

PASE and EARP questionnaires for the identification of enthesitis, synovitis, and tenosynovitis in patients with psoriasis.

The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of the Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Evaluation (PASE) and Early Psoriatic Arthritis Screening Questionnaire (EARP) questionnaires in the ultrasonographic detection of enthesitis, synovitis, and tenosynovitis. A cross-sectional study was done in a total of 96 consecutive patients. Double blind clinical examination and echographic assessment were performed.

Levosimendan beyond inotropy and acute heart failure: Evidence of pleiotropic effects on the heart and other organs: An expert panel position paper.

Levosimendan is a positive inotrope with vasodilating properties (inodilator) indicated for decompensated heart failure (HF) patients with low cardiac output. Accumulated evidence supports several pleiotropic effects of levosimendan beyond inotropy, the heart and decompensated HF. Those effects are not readily explained by cardiac function enhancement and seem to be related to additional properties of the drug such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic ones.

Related factors to semi-recumbent position compliance and pressure ulcers in patients with invasive mechanical ventilation: An observational study (CAPCRI study).

Background: Semi-recumbent position is recommended to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia. Its implementation, however, is below optimal.

Objectives: We aimed to assess real semi-recumbent position compliance and the degree of head-of-bed elevation in Spanish intensive care units, along with factors determining compliance and head-of-bed elevation and their relationship with the development of pressure ulcers.

Morbidity and mortality outcomes after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients aged 75 years and over: Spanish group of peritoneal cancer surgery (GECOP) multicenter study.

Background: The aim of this study is to report the perioperative outcomes of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in patients ≥75 years from a Spanish multi-institutional experience.

Methods: This multi-institutional retrospectively analyzed a prospectively collected clinical data from 10 Spanish hospitals that are part of the Spanish Group Peritoneal Cancer Surgery (GECOP). We assessed postoperative morbidity rates and performed univariate and multivariate analyses of factors associated with overall (grade I-IV) and major (grade III-IV) postoperative morbidity.

Use of high frequency ultrasonography in dermatology departments in Spain.

Background: High Frequency Ultrasonography (HFUS) is a rapid, reliable, and effective diagnostic technique that has become progressively employed within the past years among dermatologists.

Objective: To describe the use of HFUS among dermatology departments in Spain.

Methods: An observational, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 23 dermatology departments at Spanish public hospitals.

Effectiveness of sequential intravenous-to-oral antibiotic switch therapy in hospitalized patients with gram-positive infection: the SEQUENCE cohort study.

Switching from intravenous to oral antibiotic therapy may improve inpatient management and reduce hospital stays and the complications of intravenous treatment. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of intravenous-to-oral antibiotic switch therapy and an early discharge algorithm in hospitalized patients with gram-positive infection. We performed a prospective cohort study with a retrospective comparison cohort, recruited from eight tertiary, acute-care Spanish referral hospitals.

Mechanical intestinal obstruction secondary to congenital diaphragmatic hernia in an adult. Report of a case.

We present a case of congenital diaphragmatic hernia diagnosed in an adult. It is a kind of exceptional pathology outside the pediatric age with few cases reported in the literature. Its presentation is unusual, especially in the form of mechanical intestinal obstruction, requiring surgical treatment.

Iodine status and thyroid function among Spanish schoolchildren aged 6-7 years: the Tirokid study.

I deficiency is still a worldwide public health problem, with children being especially vulnerable. No nationwide study had been conducted to assess the I status of Spanish children, and thus an observational, multicentre and cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain to assess the I status and thyroid function in schoolchildren aged 6-7 years. The median urinary I (UI) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in whole blood were used to assess the I status and thyroid function, respectively.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients Treated with Infliximab for Ulcerative Colitis: Predictive Factors of Response-An Observational Study.

Aim: To evaluate the early and long-term efficacy of infliximab in ulcerative colitis and to determine predictors of response and colectomy.

Methods: This is an ambidirectional cohort study in a tertiary referral center including patients who started infliximab within 2005 and 2008 and monitored until 2014. Efficacy was evaluated by partial Mayo scores at weeks 2, 4, 8, 30, and 54.